Letter
Dear Mr. Anderson:
In its public meeting of 21 October conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for the modernization and expansion of Raymond Elementary School, located at 915 Spring Road, NW. The Commission approved the general concept with the following comments for the development of the design.
The Commission members found the overall massing and siting of the proposed new addition well considered and they commended the general design, commenting that it would have a coherent relationship with the historic school building and a clearly articulated entrance at the connecting hyphen. However, they observed that the large windows on the south and west facades of the addition may be overly monumental and out of scale with the historic school, as well as questionable in addressing principles of sustainable design; instead, they recommended a more solid treatment for the enclosure system on these facades, less reliant on applied shading devices to mitigate solar heat gain on the large expanses of glass proposed, with decorative brick coursing or texturing to provide visual interest and a secondary scale in the elevations. For the landscape design, the Commission members commented that the proposed layout is sensitive and provides good access throughout the site. They encouraged minimizing the extent of fencing on the school grounds and requested that it be removed from the front yard to provide a more open and welcoming approach to the school.
In order to complete the concept design review, the Commission requested an additional submission of this project, to include refinement of the building facades and material selections. Please coordinate with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Keith A. Anderson, Director
D.C. Department of General Services
2000 14th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
cc: Hiroshi Jacobs, Studios Architecture
Sharon Bradley, Bradley Site Design
Nicholas Williams, D.C. Public Schools
Patrick Moloney, D.C. Department of General Services